Tax Benefits for Families: Changes in the Definition of a Child (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
March 10, 2006 |
| Report Number |
RS22016 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Christine Scott, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Beginning with tax year 2005, there is a new definition of a child for tax purposesas a result of changes made by the Working Family Tax Relief Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-311), and technical changes to this act made by the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005(P.L. 109-135). The new definition affected taxpayers claiming certain tax provisions,including five tax benefits widely used by families - the personal exemption fordependents, the dependent care tax credit and exclusion for dependent care assistanceprograms, the child tax credit, the head of household filing status, and the earned incomecredit.P.L. 108-311 provided a more uniform definition of a child for these tax provisions.The changes provided specific requirements for an individual to be either a qualifyingchild or a qualifying relative for the personal exemption for dependents. The taxprovisions used by families are linked to new definitions of a qualifying child orqualifying relative. For example, for the child credit, an individual must be a qualifyingchild under the new definitions and meet, as under the pre-2005 rules, the age limitation(17) and be claimed by the taxpayer as a dependent for the personal exemption.
